Chasing Legends
by Shmeilia Rockie
Summary: Sometimes an epic romance is a bad thing. When it goes sour, everyone suffers. In this chapter: Queen Lavender confronts Ambrose about his feelings for Deegee, and Deegee misses breakfast with good results.
1. Chapter One

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Scifi Channel's Tin Man.

**Chapter One**

**Author's Note:** After the success of chapter one on the LiveJournal community dg(underscore, stupid efefdotnet)glitch I thought I'd upload it here too. Please enjoy my latest offering! (I'm currently working ahead... I'm on chapter five, but also rewriting chapter two. Just if anyone wants to know.)

* * *

Wyatt Cain entered the Royal Chambers and removed his hat out of respect. "You summoned me, Your Highness?" 

"Yes, Mister Cain. Please sit down." The Queen of the Outer Zone finished arranging a bouquet of fresh daisies in a green glass vase and turned to the Tin Man. "I know you aren't one for small talk, so I'll get right to the point. My husband and I would like you to work for us for a time. You and your son can live right here in the palace. We'll take care of everything you need." She paused and looked out the blue stained-glass window over the frozen lake.

He took the offered chair and rested his hat in his lap, but still never really relaxed. "Go on, ma'am."

"We want you to guard Azkadellia. The public isn't exactly fond of her right now, and she needs protection until we can convince the world that she's not the evil sorceress everyone thinks she is. I expect there to be a few attempts on her life in the coming months."

Azkadellia. 'We're all about second chances here,' Deegee had once said. The older Princess was a completely different person, withdrawn and wide eyed as the child she had been now that the Witch was dead. A cloud of remorse seemed to follow her wherever she went, but she seemed to be improving as well as could be expected in the short time since the eclipse. It seemed impossible to think that anyone could mistake Az for the dark sorceress masquerading as Azkadellia, but as a Tin Man Cain knew that any potential assassins wouldn't stick around long enough to discover the difference before attempting to do their job.

"You're right, she isn't very popular. But Deegee trusts her, and that's good enough for me." He stood up and shook the Queen's hand with a single, strong downward motion. This was not something he had to think too much about. After all, this is where his weird, wonderful new family lived now. "I'd be honored to serve the Royal Family, Your Highness."

The Queen dismissed him, and made haste to tell Jeb about their new living arrangements. He knew the young man would be less than pleased about this job, but Cain hoped he would come to accept the situation in time.

* * *

Moving everyone into the glittering ice palace had not been easy, but Deegee vehemently insisted her friends live with her. Glitch and Raw accepted easily enough, as they didn't have permanent homes anyway. Wyatt Cain refused to move in, saying it was too soft but really implying that he wanted to spend some time away from the group catching up with his son for all those lost years. Deegee supposed they were on a boat somewhere fishing and eating the meat raw like manly men, or something. She missed his strong protective presence in the palace. She could sense her other three friends wherever they were on the grounds; Raw made what she could only think of as a nest in the indoor gardens, Tutor took up residence in a small humble room on the first floor close the kitchens (though they offered him much better, he steadfastly declined), and Glitch... 

Now that the excitement of their adventure was over, Deegee had plenty time to reflect on the friends she made. What she discovered was that her feelings for Glitch were very different than what she felt for her other friends. Mister Cain was like a father to her. Raw was a knowing, kind councilor. Tutor was a great teacher and man's best friend all rolled up into one. But she couldn't put words to her relationship with Glitch. Yes, he was her best friend, but they were closer than even best friends should be. He wasn't a father figure, despite being old enough to fit the bill. Their friendship involved a lot of casual touching, gentle hugs, and easy silences. Sometimes they didn't even talk, but enjoyed long hours of just being in each other's company. When she was near him she felt soothed by his mere presence.

She reached out with her magic, sensing him pacing in his room like a caged animal and fought a strong urge to go to him. Her dearest friend was terribly worried about his upcoming brain surgery and subsequent personality change. The two had spent the last three days trying to distract him from it with games and stories, but it was getting harder and harder to keep him occupied as the date loomed ever closer. Tomorrow he would go under the knife. She tried to act like it didn't bother her for his sake, but inside she was just as frightened about it as he was.

Determined to give him some breathing space for at least a little while, and to put aside her confusing feelings, she made her way to the vast castle library. Her instincts were guiding her to find something hidden within the stacks and though she knew not what it was she had a feeling it was something about the Grey Lady for whom she'd been named. She remembered meeting the apparition of her greatest great grandmother and wondering how such a plain-looking, seemingly-ordinary girl could have been so deeply connected to the Outer Zone despite being a total othersider. What had her life been like? How did she come to found such a lasting ruling line?

She climbed the rolling ladder to the top wrung and sat slightly hunched in an empty shelf. Here lay the oldest, dustiest history tomes. With great care she opened the nearest one and smoothed out a yellowed page. It had taken her a while to decipher the loopy writing, but after realizing that all the 's's looked like 'f's it became much easier to understand. "'On the bicentennial of the founding of Central City on the ruins of the Emerald Palace, Emmaline Gale the Third locked away the terrible Mobat Witch in an abandoned mine, behind a statue of the demon's likeness. Gods willing, her evil shall never see the light of day again.' Too late for that, buddy." She snapped the book closed much harder than she should have, causing a cloud of dust to assault her senses.

A clicking of tiny nails on the marble alerted her to someone else's presence with her in the library. Tutor quirked his doggy head before regaining human form and staring up at her with a very similar amused expression. "Looking for something, Princess?"

"Yeah, sure." Deegee waved away the last of the dust and coughed to get it out of her lungs. "What do you know about the Dorothy Gale?"

"The first? Not much, I'm afraid. Most of what's known about her is more legend than fact." He held out a hand to help her descend the ladder. "Why do you want to know? You were never interested in history as a child."

She hoped the rest of the way to the ground with his support and smiled toothily at him. "True, but I was interested in stories. What can you tell me about her?"

"She slid over from the other side on a rainbow and traveled with an animated scarecrow, a tin golem, and a talking lion. They journeyed along the old road when it was new and paved with gold to the fabled Emerald City to ask the Wizard King to send her home. Along the way she made enemies with a witch from the desert lands that she melted like a sandcastle with a bucket of water when the woman took her magical silver slippers. She returned to the other side, but came back twice before making the Outer Zone her home. She founded your line and all was peaceful during her eighty year reign. Or so the legends say. No one really knows what happened because very few written records were kept, and those that made it into books were burned by the false queen Jinjur in the annual 857."

Deegee blinked a few times in awe. "Wow, there's so much I don't know about my own family, let alone the O.Z."

Tutor chuckled warmly at this before turning serious. "Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming. But remember that they're all just stories. Those that go chasing after the Grey Gale normally devote their whole lives to her and receive nothing in return. She's been described as a cruel, sadistic mistress. It's best to just let her go, Deegee. Be content in knowing that her blood and magic flows through your veins."

She frowned, not one to be discouraged that easily. But for now, she let it drop.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Two**

**Author's Note:** I rewrote this one TWICE, due to too much sudden romantic sappiness. I love romantic sappiness, don't get me wrong, but it was too soon. It will come later, don't worry. I don't know when the next chapter is coming... I have it written, but I need to reread it a few more times.

* * *

Azkadellia finished brushing out Deegee's hair and tied it back with a green ribbon. She smiled at her sister with that ever-present sad look in her eyes and placed her hands on Deegee's shoulders. "You've turned out so beautiful, sis. That gown really brings out the fire in your eyes." 

Deegee smiled back and smoothed out her emerald dress as she got up from the vanity, wiggling the bodice until she was relatively comfortable. "I don't know. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this corset thing, Az. Sure, it does wonders for my figure, but I can barely breathe in it!"

Azkadellia laughed genuinely at this, and for a moment Deegee could see a glimmer of the carefree sister she lost all those years ago. "Oh, Deege, Talla used to say that if you can speak without gasping it isn't tight enough."

"Who's Talla?"

"You don't remember Talla? She was our nanny, and Mother's handmaiden." Her eyes darkened again and she turned away. "I killed her because I found out she'd been smuggling out information about the anti-sunseeder."

"Az, please. You've got to stop doing this to yourself." Deegee drew her older sister into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. Azkadellia didn't return the embrace, but just let herself be held. They stood there for quite some time before the younger woman spoke again. "That was the witch's doing, not yours. You don't have a mean bone in your body and you know it. Nobody blames you for those things, because they're not your fault. Surely, you understand that."

Azkadellia drew in a shaky breath and pulled away. "I know, I really do, but that doesn't change what's in my heart. I just can't help but feel like I should have done more to resist her, that's all."

"You beat her in the end, didn't you?"

"No, we beat her together, the way it was meant to be. Two sisters united against the darkness." She took Deegee's hand and relaxed at the warmth of the Light flowing between them. She smiled, and this time it reached her eyes. "Let's go to Finaqua sometime soon. I'll take you to Ozma's secret grotto and we can restore the shrine there."

Deegee's eyebrows knitted together. "Ozma? That name is familiar, but I don't remember why. Is she a goddess?"

"A goddess? She's mother goddess, head of the Ozian pantheon! A beautiful maiden with golden hair and eyes greener than the purest of emeralds. She brought the Grey Lady to our world to bring order in the Ancient times. I can't believe you don't remember her! We draped her statue in flower necklaces every time we visited Finaqua."

Deegee's lips pulled into a soft smile. "Sounds lovely. I wish I could remember."

A knock on the ornate door startled the girls out of their conversation. Raw stuck his head into the room timidly. "Deegee? Glitch ask for you. He's worried."

"Aww, he asked for you personally?" Azkadellia playfully nudged her sister in the ribs and received a shove to the shoulder in return. "Go on, sis. We'll talk more after you see to him."

After one last glance over her shoulder, Deegee followed her furry friend into the hallway, pausing only to salute Cain as he stood by watching. "He's nervous, isn't he?"

The Viewer inclined his head slightly. "Yes, Princess. Raw told him not to worry but he does not listen. Wants Deegee to give him strength to ease his suffering."

"Thank you for coming to get me, Raw. I'll do the best I can for him." She clapped him on the shoulder. "So how have you been, Raw? Keeping busy?"

"Raw and Kalm work in the gardens, do the bidding of the forest god. Ten annuals of overgrowth to clear out, many thorn bushes and poison vines. We make good progress, it is beautiful place." He smiled, all teeth, in a look that would be intimidating on anyone else. Pride radiated off of him.

He went on as they walked, detailing the work he and the younger Viewer were doing. Deegee couldn't help but be happy for him for having found a calling at the palace. It made all the difference in his countence, his posture was straighter and his head held a little higher. She grinned as he told her a tale of how he won a battle with the crabby old apple tree, coming away with barely a scratch.

When they reached Glitch's room, the Princess was howling with laughter. Glitch watched her through the peephole, trying not to feel like a peeping-tom. He'd been waiting for her, intent on flinging open the door and dragging her inside as soon as appeared, but now he hesitated. She seemed so happy and he didn't want to ruin it just yet. Raw made a clawing motion, then pretended to throw something, which made her laugh even harder. The furry man finally bowed to her and walked off, leaving her waving and clutching her side, still doubled over with mirth.

She leaned on her hands on her knees trying to catcher breath, a feat made harder by the corset she wore. Once she recovered she raised her hand to knock, but he pulled open the door before she could. She grinned impishly, face flushed with merriment. "Knock, knock. Room service."

Glitch lingered in the door, merely looking at her (or perhaps through her). Finally he pulled it open and invited her in, wasting no time. His eyes were sharp and he looked much more lucid than she'd ever seen him. "I go under in little over an hour, Deegee."

"I know. Are you excited?" She sat in a plush chair next to the unlit fireplace, spreading her skirts out around her. She tried to look calm, but inside her heart was racing. "You'll finally be Ambrose again. I guess I should get used to calling you that, huh?"

He paced the room twice, turning with the grace of the dancer he was, and took a seat opposite her. "I'll be honest, I'm terrified. It's a lot harder to put a brain back than it is to take it out. I could die on the table."

"Raw said you'll be fine. He would know better than anyone else, wouldn't he? You have nothing to worry about."

Glitch tugged on a lock of matted hair and nodded distractedly, suddenly somewhere else. She was used to these spaces by now and merely waited this one out. He blinked a few times and grinned. "You're my best friend, have I ever told you that?"

"No, actually, you haven't." She brushed the hair out of her eyes, her expression mirroring his. She wanted to hug him so very badly, but managed to restrain herself.

His eyes grew dark and his tone gravely serious. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for, Deege. I just want you to know that. No matter what happens, please don't let me forget it."

"I won't. I promise. You're my best friend too, you know." Deegee couldn't fight the urge to touch him any longer, so took his hands into her own. "Thank you so much for everything, Glitch. You've always had my back, since the very beginning. That means so much to me... I don't think I could begin to tell you how much it means."

Both of them were extremely aware of exactly all the things they weren't saying. Unspoken words hung in the air like a thick fog between them. Suddenly their arms were around each other; both clinging to the other as if they were a lifeline. Deegee buried her face in his shoulder, refusing to let her burning eyes form tears. "Is it wrong that I feel like you're dying?"

Glitch rolled his eyes. "Oh for crying out loud. I'm not dying, Deegee. I'll still be right here by your side, even if I do become a bit of a stuffed-shirt. And if I do, Raw or Cain or your parents or even Azkadellia will set me right. Heck, your mother will probably hit me if I hurt your feelings. She never did let me get away with things like that."

A slightly more comfortable silence fell between them. Suddenly Deegee yelped, "Oh, I have something to give you!" She rummaged through her hip bag, pulling out a tiny, nondescript wooden figure on a thin, black velvet rope. "I blessed it with a protection spell to guide you safely through your surgery."

He took it gently from her and hung it around his neck. Slowly, he ran a thumb over the charm's smooth surface, and the trinket responded with a swirl of shimmering light. When he spoke, his voice was thick. "Thank you. I'll never take it off."

The clock chimed and they both stared at it with dread. Deegee stood up and offered him her hand, her face a study in false bravado. "Come on, it's time to go."

"Will you stay with me until I'm out?"

She pulled him up out of the chair and into her embrace. "Of course! I wouldn't dream of leaving you."

They left the room arm in arm. No more words were exchanged after that, but she held his hand until the last bit of consciousness left him.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Azkadellia looked up from her book of fairytales to see her five year old sister craning her neck to view something on the ground below the balcony. "Deegee, don't lean too far over the railing. You might fall off!"

"I will not! I'm being careful." One of her black shoes slipped from her foot unnoticed.

Azkadellia rolled her eyes and returned to the tale of how the Grey Lady stopped the dreaded Gnome King from stealing all the emeralds from the Emerald City. The side illustration pictured her in a humble grey dress that contrasted vividly with her sparkling silver slippers. She stood serenely, unfazed by the frightening rock man towering over her with his mouth open in a roar. The Grey Lady's adventures were Azkadellia's absolute favorite. She never got tired of the stories, no matter how many times she reread them.

"He's back! He's back, Az!" Deegee slipped back down onto the marble floor with a quiet thunk and grabbed her discarded shoe.

Azkadellia frowned, not knowing what her sister was going on about. "Who's back?"

"Ambrose! He's back from Central City!" Deegee hopped on one foot as she tried to put her shoe back on while standing up. "Get your head out of that book and come with me so I don't look silly."

"You always look silly, Deege. Besides, you just want presents."

She looked seriously affronted. "I do not! He's been gone forever and I want to see him. That's all."

Azkadellia smirked and pretended to go back to reading. "Then why do you need me to go with you?"

"I told you, I don't want to look silly! Please, Az? Pretty please?" She put her hands on the pages and gave Azkadellia the dreaded puppy dog pout. Nobody could resist that face, though many tried.

The older princess stuck a bookmark between the pages and closed the book with painful, deliberate slowness. "All right. Let's go greet Ambrose."

Deegee squeaked in delight and grabbed her sister's hand, trying to drag her away before she even stood up from her chair. Down the grand staircase they ran, skirts pulled up from their ankles to keep from tripping. At the bottom, Az made Deegee slow down lest the small girl fall flat on her face in front of the inventor. As entertaining as that would have been, she didn't want her sister to get hurt. But she couldn't stop her from running right up to the man, interrupting his report to Mother with a flying hug. "Ambrose!"

He staggered back, surprised by the sudden attack. He recovered with a laugh and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her bodily off the ground. "Well, hello to you too, Princess."

The two adults exchanged amused glances and Mother crossed her arms with mock sternness. "I can see quite clearly that I have been upstaged. I will expect that report before dinner. Deegee, let the man breathe!"

The small girl staggered back when he lowered her back to the floor, patting down her hair and trying not to look like it might as well have been her birthday. "Sorry, Mom!"

"Azkadee, you're awful quiet." Ambrose gave her a much less enthusiastic but still genuine hug. Mother took this opportunity to slip quietly away. "Had your nose buried in a book?"

Azkadellia rolled her eyes. "Yes, but somebody just had to come down and see you right away. I was perfectly content to give you time to unpack first, but no!"

"Be quiet, Az!" Deegee stamped her foot and pouted. Then just as quickly as the mini-tantrum came it was gone again. "What'd you get us, Ambrose?"

"Who said I got you anything?" He smiled as he reached into his coat pocket. There were two plain wrapped packages, one small and square and the other flatter and quite a bit bigger. He mixed them up behind his back before distributing them to the two princesses and pointing his fingers past each other. "You know the drill."

Deegee and Azkadellia curtsied to each other before swapping gifts, as was the tradition whenever he gave them something. Deegee gave Az the bigger package with a mildly disgusted face. "I think I know what that is. It's another book." She took the small box from her sister and lifted it to her ear to shake it, but it made no sound. Then in a flash of brown paper, the girls ripped off the wrappings to reveal their treasures.

Azkadellia ran a hand over the cover of a glossy catalogue in reverence. "Are these the new fashions?"

"Yes ma'am, just as you requested. I should have you know that I felt pretty silly in that store, so I hope you appreciate it."

"Oh I do, I do!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much!"

"You are very welcome." He bowed to her, she curtsied back and scampered off to her room to read, leaving him alone with the younger Princess. Deegee just stared at him with those big icy blue eyes and swayed from side to side, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. The box in her hand lay at her side, forgotten as she peered up at him. He got down on one knee so he could be level with her and tapped the box with his finger. "Are you going to open that now or wait until a rainy day?"

She jerked out of her trance and excitedly held it up to her eyes. With a hand shaking from excitement, she cracked it open. It was... A round, brown stone with a flat bottom, looking terribly out of place on a cushion of silk. She frowned. "You got me a rock?"

Ambrose threw back his head and laughed without restraint at the precious look on her face. "Dear Deegee, it's not just a rock! Turn it over."

With a suspicious glance at the man, she picked up the heavy stone and tipped the bottom up to her eye. Inside it was mostly hollow, but covered with hundreds of tiny, jagged, smoky grey crystals. When she twisted sphere between her fingers, the light from the high windows made them glitter. "Wow! What is it?"

"It's called a geode."

She studied it for a moment before looking at him with quite intense eyes for such a little girl. "You know, it kind of reminds me of you. I know you pretend to be all huffy most of the time, but inside you're a really great man. Thank you, Ambrose."

He made a sound that seemed to surprise him before gathering her into his arms. "No, thank you, Princess. Believe it or not, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he whispered and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around him and never ever wanted to let go.

* * *

Deegee awoke with a start, wondering why her back hurt so badly. She looked around the stark white space and remembered she was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a Central City hospital room. Next to her in the bed was Glitch - wait, no, Ambrose - attached to more wires and tubes than she wanted to count. The surgery had been a success just like she knew it would be, but he had yet to wake up. The doctors told her that it would still be a few days before he regained consciousness. Pathways needed time to reestablish, a process that they assured her was being aided by her strong magical presence. Between naps and meals she spent her time talking to him about this or that and nothing in particular.

She carefully took his hand but said nothing, reflecting on the memory which had surfaced in her dream. So, she had had a crush on Ambrose as a child? Somehow that didn't surprise her much. He had been very handsome. Not that he wasn't now, of course, but years in the wilderness hadn't been particularly kind to him. Looking at him now, skin pale and gaunt, he looked so much older than she knew he was. In the memory he had seemed much more alive and real than she recalled ever seeing him before (though those memories were hazy) or since. Suddenly everything came into perspective. It wasn't the loss of half his brain that made Ambrose such a tragic figure, it was everything he'd sacrificed in the name of the Outer Zone. He'd lost his whole life, all he had ever held dear. She wondered if he could ever truly put all the pieces back together and silently vowed to help him the best she could.

"Hey little sister," came Azkadellia's soft voice behind her. She pulled up a chair next to Deegee and brushed the hair out of her eyes. In her hand was a leather bound book. With a bit of deja vu Deegee realized it was the same book from her memory. "Tutor told me that you were interested in stories about the Grey Lady and I thought I'd dig this out for you. You know, to help pass the time. Perhaps you could read them to him."

They both looked over expectantly at his unconscious body, then back at each other. Deegee took the volume from her sister and opened it to the bookmark. Azkadellia had never gone back to finish that story, she thought, with a stab of regret.

Her sister placed a hand over hers, misreading the look on Deegee's face. "Maybe if we combine our energies we could heal him faster?"

"No, the doctor told me that too much magic could destroy the delicate connections that are trying to form. Believe me, if I thought it would help I would have tried by now. Do you remember what Ambrose was like before?"

Azkadellia smirked at this abrupt change in conversation topics. "I remember you had the biggest crush on him. It was really sweet. I guess not much has changed since then, has it?"

"Oh, stop it." Deegee reached over to give her sister a half-hearted smack on the arm. "Be serious. I can barely remember him, even though I know he had to have been around all the time."

"He wasn't around that much. He spent most of his time in his lair, I mean his laboratory." Az winked. "Sometimes when he was working on a project he didn't come out for days, just drank a lot of coffee and slept at his desk with a stack of papers as a pillow. Every time he went to Central City he got us some little trinket or another. You were his favorite, even if he did try to treat us equally. And you were his escort to every ball, it seemed. Either he couldn't get a real date or he didn't want one. He and Dad took turns letting you stand on their feet while they danced around in circles. Then when you fell asleep he almost always volunteered to take you up to bed. After that, he would disappear into his lab to work the rest of the night away."

Deegee fixed Azkadellia with an incredulous look. "You're making that up."

"Why would I make something like that up? Ask Mom or Dad, they'll tell you the same thing." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "You told me you'd marry him one day. You sweared it." She nodded with grave authority, as if that settled the matter.

Deegee rolled her eyes. "Stop putting me on, sis."

"I'm not putting you on. You were deadly serious about it. Of course, you were four at the time, but still!" Azkadellia hid a giggle behind her hand as Deegee shushed her.

"Keep your voice down, do you want the whole world to know about it?"

"Oh just read your stories, Deege. I've got to go before someone tries to shoot me." She ruffled her sister's hair and stood to go.

Deegee squeezed her hand and said a quick hello to Cain as he escorted Azkadellia out of the room. Before he went he tipped his hat to the younger princess. "Give my love to Gli- Ambrose when he wakes up."

"Will do." She saluted him with two fingers, then turned to the book still open in her lap. Clearing her throat, she began reading aloud slowly and clearly. "In the grey kingdom of Kansas, Dorothy Gale received a sparkling key sent to her on a shooting star by her friend the Scarecrow and she knew her friends needed her to return to the Outer Zone. But the girl had lost her silver slippers on the return journey and didn't know how to get back from the Other Side..."


	4. Chapter Four

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Author's Note:** Apparently, Ambrose was Charlie Brown as a child. Who knew? Whee, stream of consciousness!

* * *

For the first time in years, Ambrose was dreaming. And boy, did it feel wonderful. Colors swirled up from the abyss and burst into glorious pictures of a life he couldn't imagine ever being his own. He was an advisor and an inventor, not an adventurer, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that these dreams were really half-forgotten memories from some past life. In these dream-memories he'd had a different name because he couldn't remember his real one due to having half his brain stolen from him. "Glitch", they'd called him, the tin man and the beautiful young lady. There was a Viewer with them, but the poor creature never seemed to speak. Sometimes they were joined by a dog who was really a man, a shape shifter with a friendly demeanor and a terrible secret.

The five of them traipsed all over the Outer Zone getting into trouble. They were... Looking for something, he guessed, but he couldn't figure out what that something was supposed to be. Maybe he never knew to begin with. Whatever it was, it was quiet important. He watched outside himself as the group narrowly escaped death over and over, intoxicated by the danger and living only in the moment. Who were these people, and why did they feel so much like home?

The young woman strongly reminded him of his dear friend Lavender, who just so happened to be the queen of the Outer Zone. The spirit that girl possessed shined with the same light as Her Majesty's, and she was as feisty as the Queen had been at the same age. Her eyes were not purple like Lavender's, but the color of a cloudless winter sky. Vaguely he knew the two women were related, though the nature of that relationship wouldn't come to him. Surely she wasn't one of the Princesses, for one was insane and the other was dead.

There was no mistaking the way his other self looked at the girl. He'd seen that look on Ahamo's face every time he looked at his wife; it was one of unparalleled reverence and devotion. Ambrose had never looked at another human being that way, having no time to mix romance and work. Seeing the love written so plainly on his own face made him ache for all the opportunities he must have lost with that attitude. She must have really been something special to capture his attention so completely.

He couldn't even remember her name. What a tragedy! It was probably something long and flowery, befitting such a young beauty. Well, either that, or something ridiculously short that didn't do her justice. Something like... It was there at the back of his mind, just out of reach. How could he forget something so important? He loved her, didn't he?

Didn't he? How could he love someone whose name he didn't even remember? But he did, he knew he did, like he knew all the elements in the periodic table. He just couldn't help feeling like a schoolboy crushing on that little red-headed girl all over again. Good grief, what a disaster that had been! That was the last time he'd ever asked Lavender to write a note for him, that's for sure. He mentally grimaced at the memory and cast around for something to think about other than the single most embarrassing day of his life.

Straining, he could hear the mystery dark-haired girl's voice speaking to him in a hopeful tone, but the sound of it seemed to be coming to him from very far away. "... with Az to Finaqua, just the three of us. Well, technically the four of us because Cain would have to come too, seeing as he's her bodyguard, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Az says there's a shrine to a goddess there, and I can't wait for you tell me all about it when you wake up. Finaqua's such a beautiful place. I bet it's fantastic in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom..."

He could see Ozma's Grotto now. The goddess's weathered statue stood bedecked in flowers from the fields and surrounded by votive candles. Sunlight streamed in through the trees above the alcove, illuminating paths of swirling dust. The blue-eyed young woman placed a wreath of white lilies upon the statue's crown and turned to smile at him. He took the girl's hand and together they knelt before the goddess to ask for a blessing on their new life together as husband and wife.

This was not a memory, he knew that, but a hopeful vision of the future. If he ever woke up he'd do anything to make it come true. ...Whoever she was...

The color was getting brighter in intensity now, building and building until everything was white and blank. It hurt his head terribly. In fact, everything hurt...

* * *

Two days earlier than predicted, Ambrose woke up. He groaned and mumbled something unintelligible before opening his eyes and immediately shutting them tight against the fluorescent lights. Deegee was at his side in an instant, gripping his chilled hand in her two incredibly warm ones. Her voice shook when she spoke, "Ambrose? Can you hear me?"

He squinted through the brightness until her concerned face came into focus. Those eyes were even more vivid in person, he managed to think. What he blurted out was a different matter. "An angel?"

That made her smile. "No, it's Deegee. Don't you remember?"

"Deegee?" The image of a wide-eyed little girl superimposed over her face for just a moment. He blinked. "Princess?"

"Yes, that's right." She laced her fingers through his and a touch of soothing magic flowed down his arm. His head cleared a little.

"But the Princess is dead. I attended her funeral."

Deegee bit her lip, disappointment clouding her eyes. "I'm alive, Ambrose. My mother saved me and smuggled me out of the Outer Zone. You don't remember that? Or did you even know?"

He was quickly loosing his grip on consciousness. He licked his dry, cracked lips, trying to feel the rest of his body. Wiggle the toes, good. They were still there, even if they did feel sluggish. He sighed, "I'm tired."

"Come on, Glitch, try to focus for me. Please?"

Something stirred in his soul at the way she said that name. A memory floated up from the depths, of her cradling his head gently and speaking with that same soft tone. He had nuzzled into her cheek and wrapped a lock of her dark hair around his finger. He smiled sleepily at the thought of being so warm and safe in her arms once again. "Only for you, Deege."

She caressed his face with the back of her fingers, and the world slipped away again.

Deegee gently laid his limp hand back at his side and went to find a nurse. He would recover, but it was going to be a long journey. She would be strong for him.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Princess Azkadellia dozed fitfully in her bed, the covers tangled hopelessly around her body. Next to her in a chair sat Wyatt Cain with his hat pulled down over his eyes. His hand lay loosely over his pistol, ready to draw it any moment. Neither individual slept deeply, for different reasons. Azkadellia hadn't had a peaceful night's sleep since her possession; her dreams always came back to that horrible day in the cave. Cain trained to sleep lightly as a Tin Man, never knowing when he would need to leap into action.

Soundlessly the glass door to Azkadellia's balcony crept open, letting in a draft of cold air. The Princess was used to the cold, having grown up in the frozen North, and simply burrowed deeper under her downy duvet. Cain shrugged his coat tighter around his body but otherwise didn't stir. A horned brown snake slithered into the room, pausing only to take stock of its surroundings. It flicked out its tongue twice, tasting the air. Satisfied that the two occupants were still very much asleep, the creature moved toward the bed.

Up the nightstand it wound, latching onto the ornate headboard and hanging ominously over the sleeping woman. It opened its mouth, baring two frighteningly large fangs, and reared back to strike- Only to have its head blown off via a well aimed shot by Cain. Azkadellia shrieked and tumbled out of bed, half deaf from the proximity to the blast.

"Are you all right, Princess?" Cain dropped to one knee beside her and offered her a hand. She grabbed him, clinging onto his coat in terror. He patted her on the back. "It's okay, I got it. It's dead."

She swallowed hard, trying to stop her sudden violent shaking. "What was that, Cain?"

Before he could answer, three people in nightclothes burst through the doors from the hallway. The Queen took one look at the scene and put a hand to her heart. "What happened? We heard a shot."

"Some sort of snake just tried to bite the Princess. I killed it, though." He continued patting the Princess on the back absently as she rubbed her ears in an attempt to bring back her hearing.

"A snake? It's too cold up here for snakes." Tutor moved to the remains of the creature and studied them carefully. He frowned. "This was a real animal before you shot it?"

"As I live and breathe," Cain answered, standing up and pulling the Princess to her feet. She scampered off into her parents' protective arms.

Tutor picked up the animal and it broke in two. It crumbled in his hands. "It's dried clay. I don't believe it, it's an animated clay snake! This is strong magic if I ever saw it."

"Clay?" The Queen stepped forward to examine the rapidly disintegrating pieces in Tutor's hands. "Who could do that kind of magic?"

"The better question is, why now? Why would someone wait until you've issued an official pardon to pull something of this caliber? Why not just try to shoot her?" He squeezed the chunks of clay in his hands, turning them to dust which trickled out of his fingers. "You haven't seen anything like this before, have you, Princess?"

Azkadellia shook her head frantically back and forth. "Never. Not when I was possessed, even. You would think these kinds of attacks would happen when I was at the height of my unpopularity."

Cain squinted at her. "Unless this was because you're not possessed anymore. Maybe somebody liked you better evil."

"I didn't think anybody liked it when I was evil."

Ahamo squeezed his daughter's shoulder reassuringly. "There were quite a few people invested in permanent darkness. Most of them are locked up, though. Any ideas, Tutor?"

The shape shifter shook his head thoughtfully, dusting his hands on his pants. "Not at the moment. I'll look into it, though. Right away."

"In the morning," the Queen said to her old friend, stopping him with a light touch on the arm. "Get some sleep tonight. We will worry about this in the morning."

Cain finally placed his pistol back in its holder. "Are you sure about that, ma'am? If we start now we might be able to find whoever is responsible for this."

"Whoever it is, if they're smart they will be long gone by now. No sense in wearing ourselves thin trying to look for someone who isn't there. We will begin searching at first light, until then try to get some rest. I have a feeling we are all going to need it." She smoothed down Azkadellia's hair. "Will you be all right, sweetheart?"

"I'm not sure I can get back to sleep," the young woman admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. "Oh, Mother, if it wasn't for Mister Cain I would be dead right now!"

Ahamo took his wife's hand and whispered into her ear, "Let's put her in a V.I.P suite for the night. I don't feel comfortable with her staying here any longer."

Queen Lavender nodded. "Come on, Az, let's go down to the kitchens. A nice hot cup of cocoa should calm your nerves. You too, Mister Cain, or would you like something a bit stronger?"

Cain shook his head and tipped his hat back. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline, Your Highness. I want to keep alert, just in case."

"I understand. And thank you for saving my daughter."

The Tin Man smiled a crooked, grim smile. "Just doing my job, ma'am."

* * *

The morning came much too slowly for Azkadellia. She had yet to fully relax, tending to jump at every little noise or sudden movement. When dawn broke over the mountains she was already dressed and ready to get far away from the bedrooms. At breakfast she did little more than shove the food on her plate around with her fork. Her parents exchanged sad glances as the Princess excused herself without eating a thing.

"As if she needs this on top of everything else," Ahamo sighed. Lavender reached over and took his hand. They finished their meal in silence.

Azkadellia found Tutor in a little-used corner of the library. The table at which he sat was piled high with thick, dusty tomes which he appeared to be speed-reading through. He looked up briefly as she approached, barely pausing to say hello to Azkadellia and her bodyguard before launching into a tirade. "These books are all too recent. I found plenty on animating inanimate objects, but none of it quite fits. There's nothing about turning a representation into an actual living creature, though I know it's possible because of those mobat tattoos. The energy felt unlike anything I've ever encountered. I think it may be far older than anything recorded here." He threw the book onto the pile on his right with a sigh, making Azkadellia jump, and grabbed a new one from the pile on his left.

The young woman hesitated, not knowing what to say in response to her mentor's statements. She glanced around the piles of books on either side of him. A hand went to her chest where the mobat tattoos used to lay on her flesh. "Uhm, did you have breakfast?"

"Yes, I had a sandwich." He indicated a plate of crumbs at his elbow. "Your mother insisted."

She pursed her lips and tapped her fingernails on the table. "That's good. You need to keep up your strength."

"Uh-huh." Tutor looked up at her, finally growing irritated at her idle presence. "Do you need me to help you with something, Princess?"

"N-no, actually, I was wondering if I could help you in some way."

At this he smiled and reached for a plastic bag containing the largest remaining chunk of the clay serpent. "You could be a big help if you took this to Mister Raw and asked him to do a reading on it. Would you, please? And tell him to be gentle with it; it's quite fragile."

Azkadellia accepted the bag with a shaking hand and held it up to the light. "I can't believe this thing almost killed me."

"Appearances can be deceptive. You know that." Cain began steering her away from Tutor's table by her elbow. "Come on, Princess, let's pay Raw a visit."


	6. Chapter Six

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Six**

* * *

"You've been awful quiet, Ambrose." The Princess wouldn't stop looking at him with those beautiful piercing eyes. Didn't she know they made him ache inside? She tilted her head, causing her dark, silky hair to spill from over her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "I just don't have much to say at the moment."

She sighed and looked down at her hands folded in her lap. An awkward silence fell between them, as thick as butter and much harder to cut. Ambrose scratched at the I.V. in his hand, wishing he could just rip it out. He couldn't stand being idle for this long, he needed to be doing something. Anything! Vaguely, he recalled being tied to the ceiling of a munchkin cage for several days and wondered why he hadn't gone crazy out of sheer boredom. Never mind that he couldn't recall how he'd even got into that position in the first place. There were so many holes in his memory, as though he'd spent ten years floating along in some absurd dream. Things were getting clearer slowly, just too slowly for his liking.

He knew he was taking it out on her, even though she'd done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Quite the opposite, really, she'd rarely left his side since he regained consciousness. Her devotion was part of the problem. Here was one of the Princesses of the Outer Zone -young enough to be his daughter no less- giving him every ounce of patience and kindness she possessed. He couldn't even come close to deserving it. (He'd failed, failed!) And he was only hurting her in return, he could see that quite clearly, but he didn't know the right thing to say to make it any better.

It was painful for the both of them.

Deegee didn't know why he had been so distant since he woke up. At first she'd figured that it was merely a natural response to having had his brain spliced back together in a dangerous surgery, but now she wasn't so sure. He seemed to be responding to the doctors just fine, but whenever she spoke to him he clammed up. It was almost like he was giving her the silent treatment and she didn't like it one bit. Still, she had to be patient with him. Getting angry at him wouldn't help matters any, especially if she was only reading him wrong.

A nurse entered the room with a rotary phone, interrupting their not-conversation. This was the first telephone Deegee remembered ever seeing in the Outer Zone, so it took her by surprise. The nurse bowed his head and handed her the receiver. "For you, Princess."

She frowned and accepted it cautiously, flipping her hair out of her way and pressing it to her ear. "This is Deegee."

"Good afternoon, angel."

She relaxed at the sound of her mother's voice, allowing a smile to form on her soft features. "Good afternoon, Mom. How's life at the palace?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. An attempt was made on your sister's life last night."

Immediately, Deegee's posture snapped stiff. "Is she all right?" Ambrose sat up and shot her a questioning look, but she held up a finger to silence him.

"Yes, dear, she's fine, merely shaken. Someone let a charmed clay snake into her quarters to bite her. Mister Cain shot it in the head. We believe it may be someone who isn't happy with Azkadellia returning to normal."

"That's terrible! Who would want to do such a thing?"

Queen Lavender sighed. She sounded very tired. "We don't know, sweetheart. We are looking into it, however."

"Do you need me to come home?"

"No, please stay there. We do not want to put the both of you in the line of danger. You are quite safe in the hospital; it has some of the tightest security in the Outer Zone. How is Ambrose recovering?"

Deegee met the man's eyes with a guarded look. Her voice was cold. "Oh, he's fine. They said he could go home in a few days as long as he gets bed rest the rest of the month. No heavy lifting, lots of check-ups, that sort of thing."

"Oh, good. We're looking forward to having him around again, your father and me. Not to mention your friends, they can't go more than a few hours at a time without mentioning him. Give him my love, would you?"

She wrapped a finger around the phone cord and nodded, looking more and more like a little lost child with every passing second. "I will. I miss everyone so badly, Mother. Give them all hugs for me."

"Take care, darling. I love you very much and I'm so proud of you."

Deegee slowly replaced the receiver in its cradle and set it on the side table. She looked at the ceiling and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Mom says hello."

"She didn't ask for me?"

"No." The young woman tore her gaze from the ceiling tiles. He almost flinched under the raw emotion of that haunting stare. "Azkadellia was almost assassinated last night."

"I'm so sorry, Princess. Was she injured?"

"No, just frightened." She rubbed her eyes. "Excuse me, Ambrose, I've got to get some air."

He watched her go, wishing he had some magical words that would make all of this better. Instead he said nothing at all, and regretted it.

* * *

The palace gardens were always a sight to behold. Creeping plants completely covered the sandstone walls right up to the domed glass ceiling, giving the whole room a feeling of wilderness. Their green contrasted sharply to the frozen wastes outside the palace walls that permeated the area practically all year round. Animal life oozed from every nook and cranny, mostly in the form of insects or colorful birds. Azkadellia wondered if there were any snakes and shuddered. Steeling herself, she pushed the double glass doors open and strode inside looking as confident as she could.

Cain followed barely a step behind, eyes warily scanning this new environment. Despite numerous invitations by Raw, he'd never actually had an opportunity to visit the garden. As he looked around he noticed a remarkable contrast in the condition of the two different sides of the vast room. The left side was clear and orderly, all the plants well trimmed and fully weeded. The right side wasn't so lucky; its trees had a scruffy, gnarled look about them. If a room could look sinister, this one certainly did.

A flash of brown fur caught the Tin Man's eye and he pointed a finger in that direction. "He's over there, Princess."

"All right, I see him." Azkadellia picked up her skirt and entered the darker corner of the room, and Cain followed at her heels. They pushed unkempt foliage aside as they moved, thankful when none of it pushed back. Cain kept a hand on his gun. They lost sight of the Viewer in the density and failed to pick up his trail again. Azkadellia stamped her foot in frustration, cupped her hand around her mouth, and called out, "Mister Raw, we need to speak with you. It's Azkadellia and Mister Cain."

At first nothing happened, then rustling of leaves alerted them to someone's presence behind them. They spun on the spot to greet the furry man, who wore a polite but puzzled expression. "How can Raw help Princess?"

She handed a plastic bag to him, which he accepted with some confusion. "Can you read this, please?"

"Clay?" He pulled out the chunk of dried clay and held it up to what little light came in through the ceiling. With a breath in, then out, he closed his eyes. "Raw see unnatural beast... And sand... Desert."

"Do you see who created this beast?"

"Darkness, earth... A voice like rattling bones, but no face. Feels ancient and powerful. I cannot get proper reading, something is blocking." The Viewer shook his head and opened his eyes. They were filled with self-disappointment. "Sorry, Princess."

Cain clasped his friend on the shoulder. "You did your best, Raw. At least now we know it's someone who shouldn't be trifled with."

"This doesn't bode very well." Azkadellia's shoulders slumped slightly.

The Tin Man barked a humorless laugh. "You're telling me, Princess."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

"I don't want to look," Ambrose told the girl in the chair as he held the hand mirror against his chest. "I don't like to sound petty, but they shaved off my hair! I liked my hair." 

Deegee rolled her eyes and ran a hand over a part of his scalp not touched by surgery, towards the base of his neck. The intimate nature of that casual touch sent a fantastic chill down his spine. "Come on, Ambrose, it's not that bad. Besides, it's already started to grow back. You're all fluffy. It's cute."

"Yeah, that reminds me I probably need a shave, too." He peeked in the mirror and jumped. "It's worse than I thought. I'm disgusting!"

She cuffed him lightly on the shoulder, careful not to be too rough. "You are not disgusting. Stop being such a drama queen. "

"That's easy for you to say. You are as fresh as a spring day." And twice as lovely, he didn't add. When a tint of rose crept up her neck, he wondered for a brief moment if he'd actually said it after all. (Now he knew where the name "Glitch" came from; she told him he used to have those moments all the time.) "Really, if I didn't know for a fact you spent a little more than a week sleeping in that chair I would never believe it."

"Oh stop it, you're just being nice." She covered his hand gently with her own. "I know what you're doing and I really appreciate it."

"Doing? I'm not doing anything at all, Princess."

She tutted. "Don't act all innocent, I know you better than that. Here you are in a hospital bed, recovering from life-threatening brain surgery, and you're trying to cheer _me_ up. I'm not going to protest, though. It's much better than you ignoring me."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head in regret. "I'm sorry, Princess. I wasn't feeling my best."

"I understand, Ambrose. Don't beat yourself up over it." She flashed a winning smile and took his good hand, lacing her own fingers with his. They fit together perfectly, he thought with a flutter of butterflies. Oh for crying out loud, he was too old for this! Teenagers get butterflies in their stomachs when the object of their affections holds their hand, not someone mature and dignified like Ambrose. Wait, she was saying something. He shifted his focus back to her smiling face with a bit of difficulty. "Would you like to try going for a walk? Just down to the end of the hall and back?"

A large grin spread over his face, the first genuine one Deegee had seen him issue since the first day he woke and called her an angel. "You have no idea just how badly I do want to take a walk with you, Princess. I cannot stand sitting here for a single minute more! All this idle time is driving me absolutely mad!"

Her face lit up at this enthusiastic proclamation. She untangled their fingers, leaving him feeling an aching loss. He flexed that hand, already missing their soft, warm presence. She rubbed his shoulder fondly and stood, stretching out her tired muscles. "All right, then let me just fetch a nurse. We'll have you up and about in no time at all. Well, I'm afraid it might be slightly more than a minute. Sorry."

"Should I count the seconds?" Oh that's right, Ambrose, lay it on thick already. He wondered if he was being as obvious as he felt he was, and she merely didn't notice.

"Get the stop watch!" With a wink, she disappeared down the long, white hallway. Was she actually returning his advances? It was almost too much to hope for. His eyes followed her until she vanished from sight, trailing down her curves with lecherous attention. She wore simple black pants and a plain satin blouse, and yet she looked more fantastic than many ladies in their finest ball gowns and tightest corsets. How such a beauty ever grew out of that delightful, impish little girl he might never know, but it had happened somehow.

The logical side of his brain knew that these feelings were wrong for many different reasons, but right now his heart simply didn't care. He felt freer in her presence than he ever had before in his entire life, despite being confined to a hospital bed. When she touched him, he felt like he was floating, lighter than air. Quite a strange phenomenon indeed, but he had heard of such things happening to other people. Perhaps it was just best to go with it while it lasted. When he was back in the palace surely their relationship would go back to being something that made sense. Until then he would enjoy it.

Deegee returned with a nurse, who drew the curtain and began disconnecting some of his tubing. "You're doing very well. We may let you go home tomorrow, if the doctor gives you an all-clear. Would you like me to go with you?"

"No thank you, I trust the Princess with my life." As the man helped him into a fresh hospital gown, Ambrose noticed a necklace containing a charm of a small figure around his own neck and wondered how long he'd had it. A memory flashed through his mind, of the Princess giving it to him and saying she'd blessed it, as well as his vow never to take it off. How close had they been before his surgery? Were their interactions now a natural part of whatever course they had been on before? He cursed his fractured memory and turned to the nurse. "Will the memories from my time with only half a brain ever come back to me?"

The nurse wheeled out his I.V. bag from its corner next to the bed. "Yes, in time. However, it's probable that you will only remember bits and pieces of things due to them only being stored in the half of your brain used mainly only for vital functions. It's hard to tell at this point. Not enough people survive this kind of massive reconstructive surgery to be able to document such things."

Ambrose smiled at the man and held up the charm on his necklace. "I had a bit of magical help from the Princess."

He cast a glance at the silhouette of the girl waiting patiently behind the curtain, hands folded behind her back and apparently paying them absolutely no attention. The nurse's eyes followed his gaze. "Then you are a lucky man indeed."

He lowered his bare feet onto the cold linoleum and wiggled his toes, waiting for them to grow used to the chill. The nurse pulled back the curtain and Deegee strode forward to take Ambrose's arm at the elbow. "Are you ready to do this thing?"

"I have never been more ready for anything in my life, Princess." With one arm in her steady grip and the other braced on the bed, he managed to lever himself onto his shaky legs after only two tries. Cautiously, he took one baby-step forward, then another. On his third step his legs threatened to give out, but the Princess held him fast until he regained his balance. The doctors had him building up to this for a while, exercising his legs extensively in bed for longer and longer periods of time every day, but it hadn't quite prepared him for the sudden return to gravity. He felt extremely heavy.

By the time he made it into the hallway his footing was much more stable, if still a bit shaky. Deegee loosened her grip, but didn't let completely go. They walked to the end of the hall, to the large window overlooking the parking lot. Ambrose leaned his whole body up against the cool glass and tried not to wheeze as he spoke. "At this rate I'll be back to dancing in no time."

"That's the spirit," she beamed, pride radiating from her face.

The stood in silence for some time, while Ambrose caught his breath. He tilted his head, suddenly feeling as if he was looking at her for the first time. "Why have you done this for me, Princess? You could be with your family right now, yet you haven't let my side after all this time."

"You're my best friend, Ambrose."

His gaze slipped to the tiled floor. "You mean I was your best friend when I was Glitch."

"No," she answered, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a gentle, reaffirming shake. "I mean you're my best friend now."

He covered her hand with his own and closed his eyes, savoring that soft touch. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Well, you sacrificed half your brain to save the Outer Zone, for starters. I can't think of anything more deserving than that." When he opened his eyes, her face was deadly serious.

"Even if it failed?"

Her expression hardened. "It didn't fail, you stalled her progress for years. You are a hero, Ambrose, not a failure." She poked him in the chest with her forefinger to punctuate her next words. "And don't you forget it."

"I don't think you'll let me, Princess."

She smiled, quite satisfied with that answer. "Damn straight, I won't. Now come on, let's get you back to bed for the whole hospital staff comes looking for you."

He wrinkled his nose and affected a whiny, child-like voice. "Aww, do we have to?"

She laughed. It was better than music.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

Deegee woke to the most peculiar sensation: the feeling of a downy soft bed under her back. She sat up slowly, wondering why it felt so strange to be lying in her own bed. Then she remembered where she'd slept the past week and flopped back down to make a giddy snow angel in the sheets. Ambrose was home and making excellent progress. A sense of accomplishment washed over her, knowing that she'd had a hand in his recovery. 

She rolled out of bed and threw her hands victoriously into the air. "And she sticks the dismount! Ten-point-oh!"

Wrenching open the curtains, the young woman languished at the window, drinking up sunshine. Spending all that time in a sterile hospital room made her forget the pure joy of a blue sky meeting a green forest on the horizon. Even the white snow seemed much more colorful than the white she'd grown accustomed to in that room, glittering the full spectrum in the morning light. It was fantastic to be home again. She could only imagine how Ambrose felt right now, getting to spend a night in his own room for the first time in more or less ten years.

As she dressed, Deegee planned the day's activities. First, of course, was breakfast with her family and friends. Unlike the other two meals, this one usually clocked in at under an hour. After that, if he felt up to it, she thought she'd take Ambrose to the gardens to read while he tinkered with one of his long-neglected gadgets. Perhaps Azkadellia would join them and the two girls could team up against the genius. They'd probably still loose (especially since Deegee didn't know a pawn from a queen), but it would be fun anyway. After lunch she intended to do some sketches with her pastels.

Taking a helpless look at her corset, she fiddled half-heartedly with the laces. Corsets were great for special occasions, but they were too much work and were way too uncomfortable to put up with every single day. Squeezing vital internal organs into a tube for the sake of fashion just wasn't her style anyway. Besides, her sundress looked fine without one. She tossed it aside without guilt and picked up her leather art supplies bag instead. Slinging it over her shoulder, she pulled open the door and jumped with a yelp.

Ambrose started too, not expecting the door to fling open just as he was about to knock. Recovering with as much grace as possible in such a situation, he gave Deegee a small bow. "Good morning, Princess. Would you do me the honor of escorting me to breakfast?" He smiled timidly in a way that made her absolutely sure Glitch was still in there. "I'm not sure I can make it down the stairs alone just yet."

"I would love to, Ambrose. I was headed that way anyway." She took his arm when he offered it. This was more out of formal custom than a need to keep him steady, as he regained much of his balance since he returned to his feet. Deegee cast a thoughtful sideways glance at him. "I was thinking we could spend some time in the garden today. I'll do some reading and you can work on one of your inventions."

He chuckled. "You just want to keep me out of my laboratory."

"Can you blame me? That place is an accident waiting to happen, and besides, the last thing you need is to be breathing in any noxious fumes right now. Fresh air and sunshine is the best medicine at the moment, I think."

"Yes, doctor." He rolled his eyes and sighed over-dramatically, pretending to be annoyed with her mothering even though he secretly enjoyed it.

She adopted the same mock annoyance, putting her free hand on her hip. "Are you taking a sarcastic tone with me, Mister?"

Ambrose stuck his nose in the air and asked in a posh voice, "So what if I am?"

"Then I'll turn this convoy around and you can just miss breakfast. Don't think that I won't, either." She ruffled up his fluffy dark curls, being careful to miss bumping the seam of angry stitches where his zipper used to be. Satisfied that his hair was completely uncoiffed, she smirked. "Much better! You should wear it like that all the time."

He touched a hand to the mess, trying to gage the damage and not wince. "Well okay, but only because you said so, Princess. I just won't comb my hair when I wake up from now on, how about that?"

"Wonderful!"

They reached the grand staircase and slowly began their descent. Though still a bit wobbly on his feet, Ambrose really didn't need her help after all. A few more days of this remarkable improvement and he very well might be back to dancing, Deegee thought hopefully. Then maybe he could give her some lessons. She imagined with guilty pleasure the feeling of his agile body moving in time with hers to music and felt a lick of heat crawl up her neck. This wasn't the time for those kinds of thoughts, she could hear the flustered voice of her mother in her mind. Especially not when he was standing so close he could probably see her blushing.

If he did he pretended not to notice. They entered the Great Hall and immediately everyone at the table got to their feet, cheering wildly. Ambrose halted in his tracks, his eyes wide in surprise. "What's going on here?"

"They're clapping for you," Deegee told him, joining in the applause.

Ahamo came up to the inventor and clasped him on the shoulder. "You, sir, are our man of the hour. Come have a seat in the place of honor."

Ambrose waved off this proposal. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly-"

"Nonsense, Ambrose. You've earned it!" He steered the flabbergasted man to the end of the long table opposite the Queen, who was dabbing at her eyes joyfully with a lacy napkin.

Looking at all who had assembled there that morning, Ambrose felt an overwhelming sense of completion. These people were his family, the kind of weird extended family he hadn't realized until that moment he'd longed for all along. Sure, he couldn't remember all of their names. The Viewer and the Tin Man, for instance, and the two boys. But there was Lavender, Ahamo, Tutor, and Azkadee... And Deegee, always Deegee. Not only did they care for him, but his presence in their midst seemed to make them genuinely happier. That was all he could possibly ask for.

He exhaled loudly, at a loss for words of substance. "Good morning!" Various enthusiastic responses greeted him in return. Deegee sat on his right and nonchalantly reached for an oven-fresh biscuit. He turned to her, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Honestly, I had no idea." She didn't even try to hide her grin as she slathered a pad of butter onto her biscuit.

Giving a fake 'harrumph', he placed a napkin in his lap and picked up a fork. "I bet you masterminded it yourself, you little devious fiend."

"Oh be quiet and have some cantaloupe," she told him, plopping a large piece of fruit onto his plate with a wet squelch. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What? You liked a light breakfast in the hospital."

He fixed her with an incredulous look. "That's because it was the hospital. All their food tastes like cardboard. You should know that, after all, you ate it too. Pass me some bacon; I haven't had meat in ages."

"Man after my own heart," the Tin Man said, passing him a plate overflowing with crispy bacon. "Try the hash browns too, they are absolute perfection."

"Thank you," Ambrose said, faltering for a moment. Then astonishingly, unbidden, a name rose from the depths of his blurry past. "Cain. I think I will."

A rather goofy smile spread across the man's face before he caught himself. He coughed behind a fist to get rid of the grin and nodded stiffly at Ambrose. The inventor didn't bother hiding his own look of happiness, as he clapped his friend heartily on the back in return. Perhaps there was hope for his lost memories after all.

The assembly went about loading up their plates and talking about the usual breakfast subjects: the weather, plans for the day, etc. Ambrose swept his gaze around the table, wondering why he couldn't remember having done this more often. Most of the time before the coup he skipped the morning meal and headed straight for his labs, never stopping to consider what an opportunity he was missing out on. The comradery came easily here during the one time of day when being casual was not only acceptable, but encouraged.

When most of the plates were covered in little more than crumbs, the Queen tapped her water glass. The room fell silent. "I believe it is high time we held a ball celebrating the return of those who were once lost to us - Ambrose, as well as my two lovely daughters. Hopefully this will help boost kingdom morale as well as usher in a new era of peaceful prosperity."

"Great," Deegee spoke with near-offensive candidness. "So how long do I have to learn to dance?"

Everyone chuckled, including her mother. "Two months by initial estimates. It will be quite the affair." She grew serious. "Security will be a major issue. Mister Cain, do you have any suggestions?"

The Tin Man opened his mouth to speak, but his son beat him to it. "If you would, Your Majesty, I'm sure my resistance fighters would be happy to provide extra security for the event."

Cain eyed his son, trying to gage his angle. "Now, Jeb, isn't that being a bit presumptuous? How do you reckon they'll be willing to volunteer?"

"If you want the honest truth, it's probably the only way most of them would get to attend a fancy event like this. They're just average people, you know? And what average person doesn't dream of this kind of life?"

"True enough."

"We will dress them in our finest," the Queen told the young man, her voice quiet in contemplation of his words. "They will be our special guests for the evening. Perhaps I will thank them officially for their good work during the darkest of times. After all, they are real heroes and deserve to be treated as such."

The boy held his head high with pride. "They would really appreciate that, m'lady."

* * *

Deegee lay with her back flat against a stone bench, gazing up at the crystalline garden ceiling lost in thought. Azkadellia's book of fairytales lay open across her lap, temporarily forgotten. In the distance, her older sister had found a large white feather and was now trying to keep floating with short bursts of magic from her hand. It reminded Deegee of bouncing a balloon at boring parties when she was younger, and trying futilely to keep it from hitting the floor. Az looked much happier at that moment than she'd seen her in a very long time. 

Ambrose interrupted her musings when he leaned over Deegee. An expression of unfettered joy stretched across his face. "I'm remembering things, Princess. From my time with only half a brain."

"That's great, Ambrose! What sort of things?" She sat up and he took a seat where her feet had just been.

"Names, mostly. This morning, I remembered that Azkadellia's bodyguard's name is Cain. Just now I greeted Raw like it was the most natural thing in the world, but ten minutes ago I thought of him as 'that furry guy'." He laughed. "Flashes of things come into my mind at the most random of moments. While I stood over there watching your sister, I suddenly remembered finding this in the Witch's castle."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a very familiar piece of jewelry. Deegee gasped as he dropped it into her hands. "My locket!"

"Old Glitch forgot all about it," he told her with a sad smile. He watched as she opened it up to the picture of her surrogate robotic parents, hesitating before voicing the problem he'd been wrestling with ever since he first woke up in the hospital. "Who am I anymore, Princess?"

She squinted at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not Glitch, because my memories from that time are foggy at best. But by the other token, I'm certainly not Ambrose anymore either. My personality has changed quite significantly and I've lost ten whole annuals of my life." He nodded his head in the direction of the locket in her hand. "That's probably something you can relate to, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," she whispered, closing her fingers around it. It clicked shut. "It's a feeling of hopeless displacement. You begin to wonder if you'll ever find a niche in this new life. That's something I can relate to very well at times. I'm lucky to have such supportive friends; I don't know how I'd cope otherwise."

"This is true. It is nice to have someone who understands the situation. I wish you didn't, though. You deserved to know the truth from the beginning."

She laid her free hand on his arm. "Hey, what's done is done. All we can look to now is the future."

"I suppose you're right." Ambrose looked up at the sunlight playing patterns across the crystal ceiling. "I wish I knew how to proceed."

"Stop trying and just do what makes you happy. You deserve that much after all that you sacrificed."

Suddenly his arms were around her. He hadn't even consciously decided to hug her, but it felt like a perfectly natural thing to do once he'd done it. Her fingers played gently with the curls at the base of his neck, not knowing it drove him absolutely crazy. They sat there in silence for what seemed like ages before he pulled back and flashed a toothy grin. "So, if standing up on this bench and yodeling will make me happy I should just do it. Is that what you're saying?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why not? I'm not ashamed to be seen with you. Azkadellia's my sister; nothing can be worse than that."

"Hey, I resent that remark!" Azkadellia stopped her game of float the feather and blew a raspberry at Deegee. "You love me and you know it, sis."

"Always," she answered.

The elder princess took a step forward, another word forming on her lips. Before it could actually be said aloud, she caught her foot on something and tumbled to the ground with a pained cry. Alarmed, three people started toward her, but stopped in their tracks as her body lurched backwards. "It's got me, help!"

Ambrose instinctively put an arm around Deegee as she clutched his coat in horror.

A hole opened up in the manicured lawn and something unseen dragged Azkadellia down into it. With no more hesitation, Cain grabbed her hand and pulled with all his might. "Raw," he bellowed, and the Viewer appeared behind him. "I think you missed something during clean up duty!"

The furry man instantly grabbed Azkadellia's other hand, and together they managed to wrench her out of the ground. Cain fired into the chasm and it sealed itself shut again, returning the grass to its previous state. Raw helped the Princess to her feet. "That not mine, Cain. That was earth magic, like snake."

Deegee ran forward and clung to her sister, tears streaming freely from her eyes. "I did it again! I just froze while you were in danger! I'm so sorry, Az. Forgive me, oh please forgive me!"

"its okay, Deege. I'm alive." Azkadellia smoothed down Deegee's hair. "It just caught you off guard. It caught us all off guard."

"I'll inform the Queen," Ambrose volunteered and disappeared immediately into the vegetation.

Cain put away his gun and cast a worried glance around the gardens. "Perhaps it would be best if we got you somewhere less green. If this thing is using earth magic then you should stay off of the dirt for a while."

Azkadellia nodded and began steering her little sister towards the door, when her foot gave out from under her. Deegee looked helplessly between her hurt sister and Raw. "Could you heal her like you did Mister Cain? Please?"

The Viewer nodded and placed his glove-clad hands on Azkadellia's ankle. The pain on her face ebbed away, replaced by a look of relief. When he was finished he bowed to her. "Feel better?"

"Yes, thank you, Mister Raw."

"Come on, let's not waste any more time," Cain said as he pulled her once again to her feet. The group left with haste, sparing Raw who went to find Kalm in the darker corner of the room where the overgrowth still remained. He had a powerful need to see if his kin was still well.

Lunch that day was needless to say tense. Deegee locked herself in her room and refused to leave, ashamed at her lack of reaction to her sister's peril. Not even Azkadellia herself could get her to come out. She spent the remainder of the evening staring at the picture of her robotic parents and wondering for the first time in ages if it was all worth it. Her dreams that night were plagued with the memory of being sealed away in a marble tomb, the earth pressing in around her with dreadful finality.

She woke up with salty tracks of dried tears on her face and a great pain in her heart.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Deegee watched the scenery bounce along outside the carriage window. Rain sputtered feebly against the glass and everything seemed as grey as the day they'd found Cain in the tin suit. She exhaled loudly. "Sometimes, I really miss my bike."

"Bike?" Ambrose asked, looking up from his book. How he could read and not be violently ill was beyond her.

"Yeah, my motorcycle. It was one of my most valuable possessions on the Other Side. I could just get on it and suddenly all my problems seemed to just fly away." She tore her gaze from the window, finally meeting his eye. "I could sure use it now."

He tilted his head. "What exactly is a 'motorcycle'?"

She blinked. "You don't have motorcycles? You have cars. Well, uh, they've got two wheels, one behind the other-"

"Oh, you mean a penny-farthing with an engine attached? That sounds decidedly dangerous."

"Huh? I don't even know what a penny-farthing-thing is." She reached for her sketchbook and began drawing as well as she could given the bumpy ride. After a minute she showed him a crude drawing of her motorcycle. "Okay, this is really simple, but you can get the basic idea from it."

He studied it for a moment. "Yes, it does look like a penny-farthing, except the wheels are the same size. It's as if one had a child with a car. I bet I could build something similar for you, but I'd need your help of course. May I keep this?"

Deegee didn't respond and when he looked at her she practically had tears of joy in her eyes. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. Your happiness matters a lot to me, Princess." He hesitated before quietly adding, "More than you may know."

She had no response. In that moment she could see as clear as the light of day that he felt the same way for her as she did for him. It was a thrilling revelation, but one she didn't know how to handle. Either he didn't know she reciprocated or he wasn't letting himself act on it. Either way she'd fix that, she thought, giving him a gentle smile and reaching across to squeeze his hand before turning back to the window. "I guess I should have picked a better day to visit Finaqua. It looks so gloomy!"

"I'm sure it will stop raining before we get there. The sun might even come out." He wasn't looking outside.

* * *

Azkadellia stood on a stool as the seamstress fitted the deep blue material to her body. She stared at the wall of stain glass windows with longing, wishing she could throw them open and scream at the world. Instead, she merely let out a small, frustrated sigh. "I wish I could have gone with Deegee and Ambrose to Finaqua, Mother. I was looking forward to visiting Ozma's Grotto."

"I know, dear, but we can't risk another attack on your life. I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you." And I won't loose anyone ever again, her amethyst eyes said quite loudly.

Azkadellia understood her mother's determination, the woman had lost so much. It didn't lessen the tightness in her chest, though. If anything that understanding made it worse. If it wasn't for her, the Queen wouldn't have lost anything at all. Though the elder princess acted like she was over the guilt, she still had moments like this one when it threatened to overwhelm her. She pushed it down with a wide, fake smile. "So, what made you choose the sapphire and silver color scheme?"

"Oh, I don't know. The onset of winter, I suppose."

"I noticed it matches the ballroom."

Her mother smiled at her attention to detail, trying not to dwell on the sad look in her eyes. "Yes, there is that."

Time passed in silence, save for the rustling of fabric being pinned into place. Azkadellia's mind wondered to the other day before the attack, to the way her sister and her mother's chief advisor interacted in the garden. "Do you think it's wise to let Deegee and Ambrose ride all the way to Finaqua alone?"

The Queen frowned, and a delicate crease formed between her eyebrows. "What do you mean, dear?"

"It's obvious that they're crazy about each other. You must have noticed."

The older woman froze, taking this notion in. Deegee spent over a week at his side after his operation, yes, but Lavender wrote it off as mere friendly concern at the time. All those hugs, the teasing, the hand-holding... They'd been subtle about it, subtle enough for it to fly in under her radar for several months. But now that she thought about it, it was blatantly obvious. "I guess I never thought about it, Az, with the attacks and planning for the ball..." She smacked her forehead and uttered a very unroyal exclamation which sent Azkadellia into a fit of giggles. She eyed her older daughter suspiciously. "How long have you known?"

Azkadellia shrugged, which finally earned her a reprimand from the seamstress for being too squirrelly. "Since practically the beginning. I don't think they know it, though. That or they're really good at sneaking around and pretending to be oblivious."

Lavender didn't want to dwell on that thought for very long. She sat down in the closest chair and tried to think this out rationally. "No, Ambrose would never go for that. He's much too well mannered to truly be with her outside of... " A memory from long ago surfaced, one of her darling angel dancing atop of his boots. She was the only girl to ever dance with him at social functions. It had been so cute at the time, but now her little girl was an adult and the implications of them dancing were completely different. When they got back she would need to interview them both separately. She sighed, suddenly feeling like an old woman. "Outside of marriage."

"Aww," Azkadellia cooed. "They would be such a cute little couple. And it would be nice to get his genes into our family gene pool, don't you think?"

"Azkadellia, that's a terrible way of putting it. I won't have you speaking of my oldest friend in such an irreverent manner!" The Queen scolded, even as she laughed.

* * *

Ambrose was right, of course. The rain drizzled to a stop somewhere just past Central City and by the time they reached Finaqua the sun had indeed managed to peek out shyly from between the clouds. As the carriage came to a stop, Deegee woke from a nap with a cramp in her legs from laying on the seat funny. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, her voice groggy. "We there yet?"

"It appears that way, Princess. Shall we stretch our legs?" He flung open the door and motioned for her to come out. "Be careful, it's still a bit muddy."

"Since when have I been afraid of mud, Ambrose?" She stepped out onto the dirt with a hearty squelch, as if to prove her point. Then she did it again with relish.

"Oh, that's right, never. How could I have forgotten?" He asked as she wrapped her arm up and around his. "Even as a child you cared naught for finery. Sometimes you drove your mother absolutely crazy, coming inside barefoot with the bottom of your dress filthy and in shreds. You had such crazy adventures. Every once in a while you even let me join in."

He winked at her and she snorted. "How very nice of me."

"We spent a lot of time near the secret grotto. You and Azkadellia made flower necklaces for the goddess every time your family visited the southern castle. Your mother would not let either of you light a candle, lest you start a forest fire, so you brought me along with you on most of your trips."

"Did I keep you around only out of necessity?"

Ambrose gave her a half smile. "Not at all. I think you enjoyed spending time with me."

"So nothing has changed, then?"

"You mean, besides everything?"

She stopped dead in her tracks at those words, feeling as though she'd been slapped. The lost years stretched in the silence between them, filled with all the things that never happened. Things that would never happen now. Tragedy consumed so much time they could have had together. He felt it too, she could see it in his eyes. There was so much Glitch in those warm brown eyes at that moment that it hurt to look into them. Deegee's lips parted, but she couldn't find words adequate enough to lessen the ache that gripped her. "Ambrose, I-"

"I know, but what's done is done. All we have to look to is the future, remember?" he answered, wrapping her in his embrace.

She sighed and nuzzled into his neck. "It's so hard sometimes."

"Yes, the situation was unfair to all parties involved. But we all survived mostly intact, even your sister. And I know it may not feel like it, but in time it won't hurt nearly as much. Until then we've just got to stick together, you and I. Would you like to go back to the carriage and sit for a while?"

"No," she said, pulling her face out of his coat with a stoic sniff and latching onto his arm once again. She fixed her gaze straight ahead and set her jaw. "No, let's go. I want to see this shrine."

Together, they disappeared into the forest without another word.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

Big lazy raindrops tumbled from weighted down branches to splatter on the ground below. A thick cake of mud coated Deegee and Ambrose's boots, leaving huge indistinct footprints behind them. The smell of damp earth and decaying leaves perfumed the air as they ventured deeper into the heart of the forest. It stirred snippets of long forgotten memories of the days when Deegee and Azkadellia romped around the woods carelessly, of the days before the Cave. She could practically hear their laughter echoing in the breeze.

She shuddered and Ambrose wrapped his arm around her waist. Any other time the weight and warmth of his hand on her side would have driven her to dirty thoughts, but at the moment she was too distracted to feel anything other than comfort from it. He looked down at her with concern in his brown eyes. "Can you feel the magic in the air? We're close."

"I can feel something, all right," she answered, casting a weary glance around the surrounding trees. "I'm not sure I like it, to be honest."

"Yes, it does feel a bit hostile. If I had to venture a guess, I would probably say that the shrine is trying to protect itself by projecting unpleasant vibrations into the surrounding area as a defense mechanism. Azkadellia probably tried to destroy it along with everything else and caused it to recluse."

Deegee fixed him with a disbelieving look. "You talk about it as if it's alive."

He smiled that fantastic smile he almost always got just before he launched into an explanation, complete with a head roll and a grand sweep of his free hand in the direction they were headed. "In a matter of speaking, yes it is. The goddess inhabits the statue there so she can liaise between her realm and ours; you can feel her presence as an entity throughout the space. When Azkadellia razed the area, I bet she felt threatened and masked what was left of her home so no one else wanted to get to it."

"Well, that makes sense. I guess."

They came to a ring of trees in a horseshoe shape some twenty feet in diameter. Their trunks were grouped so close together that they might as well have been one giant tree. It was impossible to see through them. He pulled his arm away, leaving that spot on her waist exposed to the chilly air. She immediately missed it.

"It should be right behind this copse. Let me go first, just in case it's unsafe." Normally she would have protested, but she could sense he wanted to feel manly and protective so she let him go. Carefully he disappeared behind the cluster of trees. For several seconds he said nothing, then called out, "It's overgrown, but otherwise seems to be relatively-" He suddenly let out a strangled cry and went very quiet. Alarmed, Deegee raced around the trees to his side, ready to rescue him from whatever booby traps might be set against intruders.

Only to find him doubled over with laughter. "Gotcha!"

"Glitch, you bastard!" She yelled as she pounded him repeatedly on the arm with both fists, and not gently either. "Don't you ever do that to me again! I thought you were hurt!"

He stopped laughing and fixed her with a wide eyed look. "You called me Glitch."

Her hand flew to her mouth. "I did, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Ambrose! It was an accident."

"It's okay, I don't mind." He smiled timidly and tugged at one of his curls in an adorable familiar gesture that made her ache longingly in the pit of her stomach. "Actually, I kind of miss the way you say it."

She studied him intensely for a moment before folding her arms and pretending to look stern. "Okay, but if you want me to call you Glitch you've got to call me by my name. No more of this 'Princess' crap. It's Deegee."

Ambrose nodded enthusiastically, looking more than a little pleased. They shook on it. "You have a deal, but only in private."

Deegee rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hands in exasperation. "I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get. Ah well, I'll take it."

"Well, we're in private now," he said and peeled her hands away, taking them in his own. There was the man she loved (the man she thought she'd lost), grinning at her like a crazy person. "Deegee."

She waggled her eyebrows at him. "Glitch."

Suddenly, he hooked his hand around the small of her back and grabbed her own hand with his other and held it above her head. His fingers momentarily grazed the bare skin at the bottom of her blouse and her whole body hummed excitedly with electricity. With the grace of the master dancer he was, he twirled her around so effortlessly she wondered if she had suddenly acquired the ability to fly. Around and around she went, the trees blurring into one great orange smudge across her vision. And then it stopped, leaving her staring face to chest with a vaguely human shaped rock. The world continued to sway, but Ambrose - er, Glitch, she was back to calling him Glitch now - held on to the hand above her head. "Have you met my favorite deity?"

She looked up at the face of the statue in its man-made alcove. Ten annuals of ivy climbed the walls and circled the goddess like a green cloak. Her face had no distinct features, time and neglance had taken care of that. All that she could make out were eye-like depressions and a raised area that must have once been a nose. Deegee reached out her free hand to touch it, but snapped it back when she felt the tingly build-up of what felt distinctly like a static charge. She looked over her shoulder. "Has the statue always been this badly weathered? Something about this doesn't feel right."

"No, she hasn't," he answered, dropping his hand to rest on her waist again. As light and as gentle as a feather, his fingers brushed her arm all the way down. She clamped down on a wild giggle, wondering how in the world he knew she was particularly sensitive just on that part of her arm. He had to be aware of what he was doing to her, touching her like that. That was no mere friendly touch, no sir! She knew a caress when she felt one.

When he took a breath, it was right next to her ear, and she wanted to scream in frustration. "Before the Witch razed the area, this whole place looked much more... Alive. Look, her eyes are missing. They used to be two oval emeralds. Azkadellia must have taken them in hopes that one of them was the Emerald of the Eclipse." He reached over her shoulder and stroked a finger around the hole where the statue's left eye used to be, bringing his face dangerously close to hers. "Before that she used to actually have a face, even if it wasn't much of one. You can't even see her lips any more."

"I don't even remember what she looked like before." Deegee reached up and pulled some of the ivy away from the statue's neck and shoulders, careful not to actually touch the stone. That static cling feeling still charged the air around it, making her wonder why Am - Glitch - could touch it and appear to feel no adverse effects.

"You know, some say the Grey Lady herself erected this monument in honor of the goddess over a thousand years ago." Glitch crouched down to begin pulling the weeds up from around the base of the statue. Deegee breathed a silent sigh of relief as it immediately became much easier to concentrate without his warm presence at her back.

"Somehow I'm not all that surprised, really. Az told me she single handedly brought the O. Z. out of the dark ages."

He smiled up at her. "Yes, that's how the legends go. Of course, without written records it is nearly impossible to discern the truth from the tales. After all, the stories also say her chief advisor was a scarecrow and we both know that's ridiculous."

"Who knows, Glitch, maybe he was a real person whose identity was simply lost to time. He was probably just really gangly."

The inventor snorted a laugh, but said nothing. The two of them worked in silence for some time before he stopped suddenly with a look of surprise. "The atmosphere in here is completely different than it was out there."

"Yeah, I noticed," Deegee said, tossing some of the ivy into the pile they'd created in the center of the enclosure and dusting her hands on her pants. "I think the goddess knows we're not a threat. We are cleaning up her home."

He said something in return, but she didn't hear him. In fact, she didn't hear anything at all. As she pulled the last vine from the rock, her fingers accidentally grazed the statue's outstretched arm and the forest went silent. Deegee looked around; everything was in black and white, like when she visited Dorothy Gale's tomb. Ambrose was nowhere to be found. "Hello?"

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a little blonde girl in an emerald green dress by the shrine entrance. She whipped her head around to get a better look, but there was nothing there. She called out again, trying to ignore the chill that was rapidly seeping into her bones.

A voice whispered to her like a gentle breeze, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. _Find me, Deegee. Free me._

"What? I don't understand!"

_Go to the west..._

The world was spinning now, faster and faster, and this time no one was even around to catch her should she fall. She swayed on the spot, trying in vain to fight off the darkness now encroaching from the edge of her vision. It swallowed her like a dark, frigid pool, threatening to drown her. In her last moment of consciousness she vaguely registered her legs giving out, but never remembered hitting the ground.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

It all happened so fast. One moment Ambrose and Deegee were clearing out the debris around Ozma's statue, and the next moment the Princess had gone completely still, her posture snapped ramrod stiff. Her eyes glazed over and her face went ghostly pale. Ambrose froze in his tracks. "Deegee? Princess?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but the voice coming from within her was not her own. Barely even human, it reverberated around the grotto with a terrible echo. At first he had trouble even making out what she was saying. Then it hit him: she spoke a dialect of Ancient Tongue much older than the one with which he was familiar. Realizing the importance of this message, he pulled out a pen and the drawing Deegee gave him, balanced it on his knee, and began phonetically scribbling the words on the back of the parchment in the hopes that perhaps Tutor would know their meaning. When the last word left her lips, Deegee swayed dangerously and collapsed, unconscious. He just barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Scooping her into his arms, he dashed through the forest toward the carriage as fast as he dared. As soon as he reached the clearing he called to the driver to help him with the door. "The Princess is ill. We must get her to Central City quickly."

She groaned and clutched desperately at his coat lapels as he climbed aboard, "Ambrose..."

"Shh, Deegee. I'm here." He lowered her onto the seat as the coach began bouncing jerkily along the Old Road. He undid his coat and rolled it up to lay under her head. "I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

Her eyes fluttered rapidly beneath her eyelids, making him wonder if she were asleep. Groaning again, she felt around blindly. "Ambrose, where are you? Hold my hand."

He did so, and without thinking he placed a kiss on the tips of her fingers. "What happened, Princess? Tell me what's wrong."

"Everything's spinning, it won't stop." She squeezed her eyes tightly and tried to sit up. "I think I'm going to be sick!"

"Relax, just lay back and take some deep breaths." Ambrose gently pushed her back down onto the seat and brushed the hair away from her face and neck. Her skin was feverish to the touch. "We're taking you to Central City Hospital. Do you think you can hold on that long?"

"N-no! Stop the carriage!"

He banged on the roof and yelled for the driver to stop the horses. Deegee threw the door open and vomited violently into the weeds at the side of the road. Ambrose held back her hair as she threw up. "That's better," she said when she was finished and leaned against a nearby tree. She still looked horribly unwell.

Ambrose rubbed her back and tilted his head, listening to a sound coming from the woods. "I think I hear a stream nearby. If you'll excuse me for just a moment I'll get you a cool drink."

She wiped at her mouth with the back of her shirtsleeve. "Okay, just be careful."

As he popped back into the coach to grab the canteen he heard her give up more of the remains her breakfast. He made haste to the stream and held the bottle under the rushing water, willing it with all his might to fill up quickly. At least he'd installed it with a filter, he mused impatiently, so whatever was in the water wouldn't make her even sicker than she already was. When he returned he found her leaning her forehead against the cool metal shell of the cab. He touched her arm to alert her to his presence. "Here, have a drink, but don't gulp it all down at once."

"Thanks." She smiled shamefully as she accepted the bottle. She took a swished some of the water around in her mouth before spitting it out in the dirt in a very unlady-like fashion. Only after repeating the action two more times did she actually drink some. "At least the world's stopped spinning. I can actually think now. What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Deegee took another drink and squinted off down the road as if the answer lurked just around the bend. Her answer came slowly from the depths of her mind, like a half-remembered dream. "Everything went black and white... I saw a girl in a green dress out of the corner of my eye, but when I looked she was gone. Then I heard a voice that said, 'Find me, free me. Go to the west'. After that everything started spinning and I passed out. Do you know what it all means?"

Ambrose bit his lip thoughtfully. "Honestly? No. But look at this." He uncrumpled the parchment and showed it to her. "I'm sorry about the drawing, but it was the only paper on hand at the time."

"That's okay, I understand. It wasn't a masterpiece anyway." She frowned at the nearly illegible writing. "What's that?"

"You spoke these words just before you fainted. It's a dialect of Ancient Tongue I'm not very familiar with; I did my studies in what's considered to be classical Ancient Tongue, and this is an older variation known as Baumine. I do recognize this word, which means 'brotherhood' or 'sect'. Unfortunately, that's all I could make out, and even that could be wrong for all I know."

"Perhaps Tutor would know."

He smiled half-heartedly before putting the drawing away in his breast pocket again. "That's what I'm hoping. Are you feeling better?"

"A little, thanks." She took one last sip of water and handed the bottle back to him.

"Well enough to travel?"

Deegee winced at the prospect, but nodded anyway. She turned to the silent driver. "Could you go slowly, please?"

He inclined his head in acknowledgement from his perch above the cab. Deegee and Ambrose climbed in, and the company moved along at a quick but steadier pace. Ambrose eyed her from the opposite seat as she attempted to find a comfortable resting position. "I still want to take you to Central City for an examination, or else your mother might flay me like a munchkin."

This phrase was not one he recalled ever having used before. It came with a memory of hijacking a wagon from a sleazy jerk so he, Deegee, Cain, and Raw could sneak into Central City. He blinked, suddenly recalling very vividly how he'd shielded Deegee from prying eyes with the tattered remains of his coat.

The Princess recognized that look, it was one he hadn't worn in quite some time. She reached over and curled her fingers around his hand. "Remembering something?"

He blinked again, snapping out of his stupor. "How did you know?"

"I know you well enough that I can just tell." Deegee wanted to ask him about it, but figured he'd share when he was ready. Suddenly, her eyes felt incredibly heavy. Against her will, they fell slowly shut. Soon the sound of the wheels clattering on the uneven remains of the Old Road lulled her into an uneasy slumber.

Ambrose watched her sleep on his coat and went over the event again in his mind. He had no doubt that this had been a genuine divine encounter, not only because of her proclamation in Baumine, but because her eyes were now as green as fresh spring grass. Only one touched by Ozma herself acquired such a bright, unnatural color to their irises; Ozmaian high priests and priestesses exhibited the hue as long as they remained symbolically married to the goddess. It was, however, extremely rare for anyone outside the monasteries to be graced by her presence in such a direct way.

But then again, he'd always known Deegee was special.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chasing Legends**  
**By:** Shmeilia Rockie

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Ambrose knocked on the door to the Queen's study. Her voice answered immediately, granting him permission to enter. He stepped inside the cozy room and quietly shut the door behind him. The clean white walls here were trimmed in gold. A lit brick stone fireplace behind her leather chair. Books of every shape and size lay haphazardly piled atop every available surface, save for one clear space on her desk.

The room fit her personality quite nicely. Ambrose enjoyed spending time there, and had spent many a late winter night sharing wine and stories with Lavender and Ahamo after the girls had been spirited off to bed by a fussy Talla. Of all the rooms in the Palace, this was the one in which he thought he could never feel uncomfortable.

Apparently he was wrong. It felt rather stuffy and small.

The Queen looked up from some paperwork as he entered and smiled weakly. "Good morning, Ambrose."

"You summoned me, Your Highness?" He asked as he bowed stiffly.

"Yes, have a seat." She motioned for one of the under-stuffed chairs in front of her desk. "Sorry about the mess. I've been helping Tutor do research on earth magic."

Ambrose moved a pile of books from the chair to the floor so he could sit in it. "Quite alright. How's the translation coming?"

"Slowly, but that isn't why I called for you." He frowned at her evasion, but she didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she moved from behind her desk to the chair next to him. "I'm going to speak candidly here, and I expect you to do the same. At this moment I'm not your employer but your friend. All right?"

Her amethyst eyes were boring into him with the intensity of a doctor peering at a new virus under a microscope. He swallowed hard. "Sure."

"I have noticed just how close you are with my youngest daughter." Oh boy, here it was. His brain unexpectedly locked up so tightly he could barely think at all. His pulse quickened and the room felt hot. Strangest of all, he had a powerful urge to introduce himself. She must have sensed his discomfort, for she put a hand on his arm to calm him. "Ambrose, what exactly are your feelings toward Deegee?"

He deflated, allowing his shoulders to slump just slightly. "Inappropriate. But don't worry, I haven't acted on them."

"Does she know how you feel?"

"I'm not sure." He let out a slow breath. This wouldn't be so hard if Lavender hadn't been her mother. Or his boss. Let alone both. And he still couldn't read her expression. "I think she might, but that might simply be wishful thinking on my part."

Relief washed over her. She could always count on Ambrose to be a gentleman to a fault. She leaned in toward him slightly, allowing a small smile to grace her features. "Well, if it is any consolation, you have my blessing as her mother should you decide to court her."

"I-I do?"

"Of course, Ambrose. I want my daughter to be happy, and you do an admirable job keeping her that way. Besides, you're my oldest friend and I want you to be happy too. If that means you do it together, then so be it."

He stood suddenly and held a hand out to her. The grin on his face couldn't get any wider if he tried. "Oh, thank you, Your Highness! You do not know what this means to me."

"Oh, I have an idea," she retorted as she shook his hand firmly. That look of pure joy was contagious, and she found herself grinning too. "Now all you need to do is ask her."

The smile slid from his face faster than it had appeared. Of course, there's a catch. There's always a catch.

* * *

"Knock, knock."

Deegee rolled over and squinted groggily up at her older sister. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Good morning to you too, Deege." Azkadellia laughed and shoved Deegee's leg's over so she could sit on the end of her bed. "Were you expecting someone else? Ambrose, perhaps?"

The younger woman sat up and stretched her arms over her head. "What if I was?"

"Well, he did want to wake you, but I told him the only way he'd be allowed to set foot in your bedchamber was if you were wearing his ring. I do hope he got the hint, it was a bit on the subtle side."

"Oh, Az, you didn't!"

"I did. He stalked off in quite a huff too. Mister Cain thought it was pretty funny."

Deegee covered her face with a pillow and groaned loudly into it. "Thanks a lot, now I'll never be able to look him in the eye again!"

"Stop being melodramatic and just pretend you don't know about it." Azkadellia patted her foot. "Hey, speaking of eyes, let me look at yours. I want to see if you're back to normal."

She reluctantly pulled her pillow away from her face so Azkadellia could see her irises. Her sister stared at her intensely, her brow slightly creased and her lips drawn into a thin line. It made Deegee slightly uncomfortable. "Last night they were still a bit sea foamy."

"Well, you look fine today, but it's hard to tell in this light. How do you feel?"

"Famished. Is it too late for breakfast?"

"Yes, but no one will stop you if you want to sneak food from the kitchens." Az said with a smile, a mischievous glint gleaming in her eye. "All you have to do is play the pity card. 'Oh, but I was so sick yesterday, I simply couldn't keep anything down.' Which is the truth, so it isn't even lying. You just have to pretend to be some fragile thing and the servants trip all over themselves trying to help you."

"Azkadellia! You can be such a rotten little stinker sometimes." She punched the older girl in the arm a bit harder than she meant to. "They don't get paid nearly enough for that kind of harassment. I should know; I used to serve food at a diner and nobody ever gave a damn about my feelings either."

Azkadellia put a hand on her chest, looking affronted. "I don't do it all the time! No need to get defensive about it."

"Sorry, Az. I'm just a bit cranky, that's all. I'll feel better once I've got something in my stomach." Deegee went to the wardrobe and pulled out the first thing she saw. As she dressed behind the screen in the corner, she let her mind wander. "I'm going to ask Gli- Ambrose for dancing lessons today."

"Oh? Any chance he'll be escorting you to the ball?"

"It's possible." Deegee finished buttoning up her blouse and reemerged to find her sister looking through her sketchbook. She reached for her black flats. "Promise not to tell anyone if I share a secret with you?"

Azkadellia looked up at her incredulously. "Of course. You shouldn't even have to ask."

She hesitated, before sitting next to her on the bed. She felt like she was fourteen and in High School all over again, gossiping with her best friend about that cute so-and-so in Geometry. "I think he feels the same way about me as I do about him."

"You're just now figuring that out? Everyone else knows it already."

"So I'm the last to know? Figures." She tossed up her hands in frustration.

"No, I'm pretty sure the last person to know is Ambrose. He may not even know it right now." Azkadellia smirked. "For a genius, he's a bit on the slow side. He did work out that you had a crush on him as a child, but only because you followed him around like a puppy. Then again, a bird might of let it slip that you said were going to marry him."

Deegee threw down her pillow like a gauntlet and lunged at her sister. "That's it, Az, I'm going to tickle you to _death_!"

The two princesses were off like a shot, scampering through the corridors and down the stairs as though they were on fire. Their shrieks of laughter would have woke the whole castle if everyone weren't already awake. (As it was, many an eye rolled.) Azkadellia took a sharp left, leading Deegee to the kitchens as if that had been her plan all along. She wove her way between the confused clean-up crew before dashing out the side door, a finger to her lips. Deegee stopped as if she'd been shot as soon as the aroma of fresh-baked bread hit her nose. Never before had something so simple smelled so heavenly. She closed her eyes to savor it, vaguely pondering the best way to ask for scraps without offending any of the staff.

Luckily, she didn't have to. "Ah, Princess, I see we had the same idea. Did you miss breakfast too?"

"Ambrose, good morning." She turned and smiled at the man as he handed her a chunk of bread the size of her fist. She sank her teeth into it greedily; it tasted a bit like sourdough. "Yes, it seems that way."

"Are you feeling better today?" He asked as leaned against a kitchen island.

Something about his posture seemed off, and she wondered if something was bothering him. She figured he'd volunteer the information when he was ready, so she didn't press it. "Much better, thank you. In fact, I think I might be up to some dance lessons later."

"Excellent! May I have the honor of being your teacher, or do you have someone else in mind?"

"Oh, you may. I wouldn't dream of learning from anyone else."

Putting on these airs was a tedious affair, but completely unnecessary. They weren't fooling anyone. Cain and Azkadellia watched from the doorway leading into the servants' quarters. Cain rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to say something very rude very loudly. Instead, he opted for a not very satisfying snort. "If they get any more formal they'll be in each other's pants."

Azkadellia sniffed and stuck her nose in the air. "Well, I think it's cute."

"Yes, it is. That's the problem. I hate cute. I despise cute. Did you know I eat stuffed animals for breakfast?"

"Uh huh. Sure. Just keep telling yourself that, you old softy."

They smiled at each other and made their exit, leaving the pair to flirt in peace.


End file.
